A.N. WAIT! Before you read this, you're going to want to skip back to chapter 2 which I've changed quite a bit. For example, the room Elyssa takes Anthony to is now gone. Anyway, sorry this chapter took so long to post. I'll post chapter 4 right after this one.
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Avoiding Anthony was no where near as hard as Sabrina had imagined. In fact, she hadn't seen him once since she'd arrived at the mansion half an hour ago. Heading into the Daybreak meeting room with Elyssa, she kept her eyes fixed directly ahead of her. Elyssa led the way over to a small group of people and they stepped into place between Ash and Poppy.
Hi girls, Poppy said, briefly touching Elyssa's arm. Then she smiled directly at Sabrina. Haven't seen you in awhile. How are you?
Sabrina grinned back. Peachy, as usual. How bout you?
Poppy didn't seem to notice anything out of the ordinary in Sabrina's demeanor as she shrugged in answer. Everything's beginning to calm down now. The people around her tensed a bit and she continued, The convention is sort of wrapping up. Everyone should be going home soon.
Almost everyone, Sabrina thought with an inner wince. On the surface, however, she smiled again and nodded. Must be a relief after all the work you guys put in. She turned to look around the group, noting the tired expressions.
Yeah, they were all working past three every night, Elyssa put in. I haven't seen them at breakfast since this convention began.
Thierry smiled down at her from across the circle. It was well worth it, though.
Ash sent the girls a smile that glinted like a knife's edge. We're all fairly satisfied with the results.
I don't want to be here. Sabrina felt her eyebrows come together in a frown at the sudden, clear sentiment and quickly smoothed them out again. Her heart thudded painfully and she forced herself to swallow around the sudden lump in her throat. As the rest of the group picked up the thread of conversation again, she and Elyssa turned away to have a more private discussion.
I never realized that the Circle was so big. I guess I always assumed it was just a Las Vegas thing, she said to Elyssa, oddly just trying to make conversation.
What, did you think it was just a club?
Tensing, Sabrina felt the frown settle on her features again. Reminding herself of the pact she'd made with the mirror before coming, she turned to face Anthony. I will not be rude. I will remember that he has Elyssa's stamp of approval. That should be enough for me.
It wasn't dammit.
Yeah, I listed it on my college applications, right after choir, she answered calmly with a small smile. Oh yeah, that just screams friendly, Sabrina.
So that's what you do on the weekends, huh? How quaint. His smile was just as genuine as hers, and she lost all recollection of her Behavior Plan.
I didn't realize you cared what I did on Friday nights. Both sets of eyes narrowed and the tension nearly exploded between them.
Elyssa stepped forward with a big smile. Hey, Anthony.
His eyes never left their glaring match with Sabrina's. Hi, Elyssa. He raised an eyebrow. Feeling like the victor, Sabrina let her eyes slide nonchalantly away from his to focus on Elyssa. I'm kinda thirsty, I'm going to head over to the table get some water. Glaring at Anthony briefly, who rolled his eyes, she added, I'll be right over there if you need me.
Wandering away towards the refreshment table, Sabrina let out a angry hiss. The boy was impossible. She'd had such a long talk with herself, too. She'd planned to be so polite and mature. Then, Belligerent Boy showed up and she immediately regressed to five years old. She wouldn't have been surprised if someone had resorted to hair pulling or shin kicking.
Sighing, she grabbed a glass off the table and sloshed water into it. Drinking deeply, trying to drown her agitation, she didn't notice the woman step up next to her until she heard a throat clear. Startled, she lowered the glass and turned, saying, Sorry, am I blocking the--Oh. Hi.
Marissa smiled self-consciously. Hi, Sabrina. I just wanted some water.Oh, sure. Sorry. Stepping back, she started to move away, then stopped herself. Closing her eyes and taking a silent breath, Sabrina turned around again.
Um, Marissa?
Blinking, Marissa glanced up from the glass she was calmly filling and set the pitcher of water back on the table before fully facing Sabrina. she asked curiously, without a hint of censure.
I just wanted toThat isI feel that I owe you an apology. I know that I was rude to you when we met before, and I'm really sorry about that. I don't think I can explain the reasons for the way I acted, but usually I'm a very nice person. Ask anyone, she said with a brief smile before turning serious again. I hope you can accept my apology.
Marissa smiled warmly at her. Don't worry, I understand completely. You were worried about Elyssa. I'd heard you were very protective of her, so I wasn't really surprised. I kind of expected it, she said with an almost shy expression.
Wrinkling her forehead, Sabrina smiled a little and asked, Well, read, Marissa amended with a small laugh.
Pausing for a moment, Sabrina tried to regroup then shook her head. I'm sorry, butwhat do you mean you've read about me?Oh, you've been in all the studies, Marissa said, waving her hand vaguely. Apparently, you've always had that particular personality trait. Noticing Sabrina's wide eyes, Marissa's smile faltered. You don't know?
Sabrina stood frozen, simply staring at Marissa, unable to say a single thing. Marissa bit her lip. I'm sorry, I thought since Elyssa knew she would have--What's going on here?
The sound of a voice broke Sabrina's trance with a physical start. she asked faintly, turning to find the source. Seeing Anthony, her eyes automatically narrowed. Great. Belligerent Boy returns.
Anthony stepped closer to his sister with a sarcastic smile. Miss Black. What a pleasure to see you again.
Marissa's eyes swiveled back and forth for a minute before she raised an eyebrow. I see you two have already met.Why, yes. Yes we have, he replied in a deceptively pleasant tone, his eyes fixed, glare for glare, on Sabrina's.
A charming experience, I must say, Sabrina muttered through her teeth as they clenched in a false smile.
Anthony narrowed his own hazel eyes in return. Look, you've got a problem with me, fine. But leave my sister alone.
Startled, Sabrina looked back and forth between Marissa--who seemed acutely uncomfortable--and Anthony who looked to be on the warpath. She noted with dismay the little similarities in their features. But I wasn't--Anthony, she was just-- Marissa started at the same time, looking extremely weary.
No, Marissa. You're too nice for your own good. There's no way this was all just an innocent conversation. Not with that one, he said, jerking his head towards Sabrina.
What am I, the devil?Nah, too important a role for you. You're probably just a minion.
Sabrina felt her mouth tighten at the ends. Oh that's rich, coming from the guy who gets his kicks kidnapping young girls.
All three of them froze for a moment while Sabrina wished she could rewind time and relive the whole conversation differently. Better yet, maybe not even show up for the meeting at all. But it was too late for anything but regrets and she stood her ground, feeling her stomach flip as an obviously forced smirk appeared on Anthony's face, telling her she'd finally managed to hit a nerve.
Right, I forgot. You're perfect, aren't you?
Sabrina determinedly narrowed her eyes. You know, Anthony, you can act as self-righteous as you want, but the fact still remains that I don't trust you and with good reason. So, stick it to me all you want, but I'm not going anywhere. And neither are you, she tossed over her shoulder as she walked away.
Sometimes she wished she'd never gotten involved with Circle Daybreak.
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Sabrina was acting a tad bit funny.
At first, Elyssa ignored the matter entirely, telling herself that Sabrina's absence from the house stemmed from the stress of midterms or papers or even--Goddess forbid--her math homework. But after a week, she was running out of excuses, and everyone was starting to notice. For the last ten years, Sabrina had spent more time at Thierry's house than at her own. Nearly every day after school, she and Elyssa would come back to Thierry's. The staff always set a place for her at the dinner table on weekends, and Elyssa always had an extra pillow handy in case she spent the night.
Now whole days had passed by with Sabrina hardly speaking a word to Elyssa. Granted, they still saw each other at school and still ate lunch at their favorite table, but even then Sabrina seemed distant. Or, rather, distracted.
Elyssa, scientist that she was, examined the situation carefully and came up with two working hypotheses:
I. Sabrina was upset by the fact that Elyssa and Thierry were soulmates, or worried about them sleeping in the same room, despite Elyssa's assurance that she wasn't ready to carry on an intimate physical relationship. Yet.
II. This whole thing had something to do with Anthony and that little scene in the interrogation room.
Elyssa was banking on the second theory.
Whenever she thought it over, her mind kept coming back to what had happened down in the basement. Something was tickling the back of her mind, something half remembered, or maybe some small detail she'd noticed, but hadn't paid any attention to at the time. But whenever she came close to figuring it out, something would happen to distract her.
Whatcha thinking about?
Elyssa's head popped up from its position against the wall and smiled as Thierry entered the bedroom. she said, scooting over on the bed to give him a place to sit.
He smiled back and sat on the bed, adjusting until he was leaning next to her against the headboard, his arm barely brushing hers. With a twinkle in his eye, he stared down at her until she blushed and looked away.
She cleared her throat as he chuckled and leaned his own head back against the wall. Long day? she asked as he sighed wearily.
After a moment of silence, he stirred and rolled his head to the side to look down at her again. My question still stands, you know.
Elyssa glanced at him before concentrating on her hands. Shrugging, she picked up the book that had fallen to her lap and fiddled with the corners of the pages. Nothing, I guess.
His silence forced her to raise her eyes to his face. Calm eyes met hers and held her gaze until she relaxed a bit and moved to snuggle against his shoulder, letting the now familiar pink haze wrap around her. But she still couldn't think of anything to say about it. Sabrina wasn't being mean or ignoring her, she'd just gotten quiet. But anyone who knew Sabrina knew that she was rarely quiet.
Does this have anything to do with Sabrina not coming over this week? he asked quietly. She nodded, running her hand down his arm to clasp his hand with hers. He wove their fingers together comfortingly, before adding, Did you two have a fight?
Elyssa felt herself start. No, of course not, she assured him. We never fight. And they hadn't. Miracle of miracles, the two girls had never argued over anything, not even when they'd been going through the joys of puberty and pre-adolescence.
Then what's wrong?
Elyssa wiggled nervously. I'm not sure. Thierry waited patiently as she gathered her thoughts. She's just been so quiet. Not distant really, butOh, I can't explain it, she said, blowing her breath out in frustration. She's just not acting like herself.I see.And it all started after I got back, Elyssa added, warming up to her subject. The thing with Anthony happened, I moved in with you and now Sabrina doesn't want to come over anymore.Could that have anything to do with you and I? Thierry suggested carefully.
I thought of that, too, but it's not like Sabrina. She was so happy for me when I told her about us being she blushed again, soulmates that I can't imagine she'd do a complete one eighty in less than twenty four hours.Sabrina's never been the jealous type, Thierry agreed. At least not when it comes to you.
Elyssa was silent for a moment. I keep coming back to that thing with Anthony. Down in the interrogation room, you know? She felt Thierry turn his head to look at her, but she was too comfortable leaning on his shoulder to move her head again.
What do you mean?Well, right after, in my room, that was when she started getting strange. She tried to pretend everything was normal, but Elyssa trailed off, shrugging.
Thierry's body was inhumanly still under her weight. What exactly happened down there, Elyssa?Sabrina and I were leaving and they started fighting over the door. No, not fighting, just provoking each other, really. And it was really obvious that they didn't like each other. So I probably should have just let Sabrina leave, but I was trying to make Anthony feel at least a little bit welcome, so I kinda made Sabrina shake his hand and say welcome, too. Thierry repeated.
Elyssa ignored the amusement in his voice. But everything was fine. A little tense, but fine all the same until Anthony started to say thanks.' That's when Sabrina fainted. Anthony caught her, but a second later, for no reason at all, he just dropped her.
Thierry sounded bemused when he asked his next question. Elyssa, did they shake hands before Sabrina fainted?I don't know, she answered slowly, after playing the scene over in her mind. They were reaching for each other, but I don't know if they actually managed to touch hands before Sabrina fell.I see.
The monotone voice piqued her interest enough to move from her comfortable position. Why, Thierry?
He stared straight ahead for a moment, seeming to consider the wall. he finally said, turning to smile down at her. Tingles ran down her spine as she smile mushily back. I've gotta get back to work, I just wanted to say good night.
Disappointed but understanding, Elyssa smiled reassuringly and accepted his kiss with an inward sigh of pleasure. Good luck with Sabrina, he murmured in her ear. And don't worry about it too much. I'm sure everything will work out.
Elyssa nodded and crossed her legs on the bed so she could rest her elbow on her knee as she watched him walk out the door. Propping her chin up in her hand, she sighed aloud this time after the door clicked shut behind Thierry. The man was just too irresistible. It really wasn't fair to her own inferior human hormones. She wasn't really sure they could handle the stimulation.
Her goofy smile slid away as her thoughts returned to Sabrina. Though she felt better after talking it over with Thierry, the problem was no where near solved. But Thierry was right, she should just wait it out. Eventually, if Sabrina wanted to talk to her about it, she would. Otherwise, it really wasn't any of her business.
A frustrated breath escaped her as she slapped her book down on the night table and snapped the light off.
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Sabrina wasn't usually a daydreamer. At least, not while driving. But she couldn't seem to get him out of her head.
Quickly changing lanes to turn off the main road onto the small highway that led to the high school, Sabrina clenched her teeth in frustration. It really wasn't fair that he'd stationed himself in there. She didn't even like the guy.
That's so like him though, she grumbled silently. Get inside my head just to drive me up the wall. He's probably laughing about this somewhere.
Determined not to think about Anthony any more, Sabrina flipped on her radio and spun the dial.
--find yourself grinding your teeth at night? a sympathetic voice asked.
--our guest today, Jennifer, owns a truckstop outside--No way.--right after this.
A disbelieving shriek filled the car as Sabrina savagely jabbed the on button for the radio. This is Vegas, land of entertainment, the city that never sleeps. So, why can't we have one good radio station in the mornings? she muttered with a scowl.
Screeching into the parking lot of the high school, Sabrina slammed into a spot, effectively cutting off a car that had been there first. One look at her face, though, and the football player behind the wheel didn't push the issue. At that moment, anyone seeing Sabrina would assume she was a homicidal maniac out to blow up the high school rather than attend it. But Sabrina didn't care.
Sleep deprivation has a way of catching up with you, and Sabrina, after a week of tossing and turning, was beginning to feel its effects. The fact that she kept forgetting to eat wasn't helping much.
In fact, Sabrina kept forgetting to do everything. She was already three days behind in math homework, which, thankfully, Mr. Guerin was letting her turn in late due to her exemplary assignment record. She had an English essay due the next day which she had forgotten to start four nights in a row. Actually, now that she thought about it, she was pretty sure she'd forgotten to read the book.
She'd tried to start her homework, several times in fact. But whenever she started, her thoughts would wander and she'd have to go find something to do to distract her mind from the one topic she refused to think about. Then, after she was sufficiently distracted, she could never remember what she had begun doing, and she'd either start all over again or end up starting something different entirely.
Her eyes narrowed further as she thought about the reason for her restlessness. Anthony Lightblood. The witchy, bloodsucking fiend. She didn't know what kind of spell he'd cast on her, but that was the only explanation she could come up with to explain her recent behavior.
She wasn't positive, but she was pretty sure she hadn't had a real conversation with Elyssa for almost a week. She really did want to know how things were going with Thierry, especially now that Elyssa had moved in with him, but every time she saw Elyssa it just reminded her of Anthony.
That's it, Sabrina seethed, her face contorted into a mask of extreme annoyance. I have got to do something about this.
It should be pointed out that it wasn't sleep deprivation or the fact that Anthony seemed to have taken up permanent residence in her mind that triggered the most anger in her. It was the fact that she had to struggle in order to blame him.
Sabrina didn't really see herself as a logical person--she left that area to Elyssa generally, one reason her math grade was so poor. In fact, she tended towards daydreaming and fanciful thinking. She recognized this and was quite comfortable with the state of things. But she did consider herself as in possession of at least a modicum of common sense.
After everything Anthony had done (kidnapping her best friend, dropping her on a floor, yelling at her in public), one might think that, when confronted with the ceaseless presence of him in one's every thought, the sensible reaction to all of this would be an unparalleled anger towards the person Considering Anthony's genetic predisposition to witchy things, one might even pose that he cast a spell to drive his victim insane.
However, despite all of her encounters with the witchy fiend, Sabrina's mind refused this logical, sensible conclusion. A basic, inherent part of her--a part she wished to alienate completely--desperately argued that Anthony would never do that. He would never cast a spell on an innocent.
Why her mind clung to this foolish hope was beyond her. There was no love lost between them, and she couldn't understand why her own mind would defend him. And with each proclamation of his innocence, Sabrina felt her frustration level rise another notch.
I've got to snap out of it, she reiterated quietly to herself as she pressed her thumb into the keypad on her locker. A buzzing followed and then the door popped open.
Determination coursed through her veins as she dumped her backpack's contents into the empty locker. Absently, Sabrina began to rearrange her books and papers, organizing the mess in a matter of seconds. Taking a deep breath, she grabbed her laptop and the books she'd need for morning classes before staring blankly at the contents of her locker.
That's it, she muttered, her eyes moving over her neatly stacked belongings. Organization and planning.
The boy at the locker next to hers raised an eyebrow and glanced at her, quickly gathering his things, but Sabrina didn't notice.
Obviously her current plan--or lack thereof--was failing miserably, so avoidance was not the solution to her problem. So, a new tact was in order, preferably one that came at the problem from the opposite direction. Seeking out the root of her trouble without fear or frustration. That was the place to start. It would re-instill her sense of control over the situation, she was sure of it.
Slamming her locker door shut, Sabrina took off down the hallway towards her first class of the morning feeling refreshed. She would start today.